1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector with a lock for a terminal fitting.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,083 discloses a female connector that has a housing with opposite front and rear ends. Cavities extend through the housing from the front end to the rear end, and female terminal fittings can be inserted into the cavities from behind. Locks are cantilevered forwardly from the bottom walls of the cavities and lock the terminal fittings in the cavities. A tab insertion hole is formed in the front wall of each cavity to permit the entrance of a tab of a mating male terminal fitting from the front.
Mold-removal holes are formed in the front of the housing to accommodate molds required to form the cantilevered locks. The mold-removal holes cut into middle parts of the bottom surfaces of the tab insertion holes.
FIG. 7 illustrates a male connector with a cavity construction similar to the above-described female connector. A tab 1 of a male terminal fitting in the cavity is inserted through a tab insertion hole 2, as shown in FIG. 7. The tab 1 contacts the inner periphery of the tab insertion hole 2 to prevent loose movement and is supported from below by receiving portions 3 at the opposite sides of the bottom surface of the tab insertion hole 2.
Each cavity can be made smaller to meet a demand for miniaturization of the male connector. However, a narrower lock 4 may not adequately hold the terminal fitting. The width of the cavity may be reduced without reducing the width of the lock 4, but the width of a mold-removal hole 5 must correspond to the width of the lock 4. Thus, narrowing the cavity without narrowing the lock 4 increases the proportion of the bottom surface of the tab insertion hole 2 cut by the mold that forms the lock 4 and decreases the sizes of the receiving portions 3 at the opposite sides of the bottom surface of the tab insertion hole 2, as shown in FIG. 7. As a result, the receiving portions 3 may not support the tab 1 securely, and there is a possibility that the tab 1 will displace towards the mold-removal hole 5. Movement of the tab 1 can hinder a connecting operation of the male and female connectors.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problem, and an object thereof is to securely support a portion of a terminal fitting even upon the miniaturization of a connector.